I realise this is a bit of a silly question, but I'm writing up a conference paper on a model that's named after a Hollywood movie. What is the appropriate way to cite the movie in the paper? Should it have its own entry in the references (and if so, in what format?), or should I simply say something like "...after the 1986 movie of the same name"?

@vzn it's a cellular automaton with the curious property that gliders cannot be destroyed except by colliding with other gliders. The gliders meet until only one immortal glider remains - so we call it "Highlander".
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NathanielMar 31 '14 at 16:34

Thanks, that's great. The conference uses an APA-type style, so I'll use that. (I'll leave it a couple of days before accepting, just in case there are other answers.)
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NathanielMar 31 '14 at 11:06

Great, I was going to ask what style but I though I'd give the link for a few to make the answer useful to others that may have same question.
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gmanMar 31 '14 at 11:10

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+1 Since humanities papers cite movies and other works of fiction all the time, academic conventions already exist and should be adhered to unless otherwise stated by the publication venue
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ThomasHMar 31 '14 at 12:04

You should probably add "Edition" if applicable; was it cinema, TC, director's or extended cut?
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RaphaelMar 31 '14 at 12:04

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If in your citation style link is desired, I would add one from imdb.com.
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Piotr MigdalMar 31 '14 at 16:08

In my research area (databases/distributed systems) projects often have a name taken from something out of pop (or not-so-pop) culture. It seems that if any reference for the allusion is given, it comes in a simple footnote. Your suggestion of "after the 1986 movie of the same name" would likely be perfectly adequate.

On the other hand, if some aspect of the movie actually influenced your work and you discuss it a bit, a full-on citation might be more appropriate.

If it is just the name, I would not cite it. (Unless you really want to or the title may be otherwise strange, ambiguous or misleading (never assume that everyone gets any cultural reference, no matter how popular among your friends).)

I always though that it is up to reader's wit to catch the reference. The same as for project, grant or technique names being contrived acronyms. For example, for FROG (i.e. Frequency-Resolved Optical Gating) I would be surprised by someone citing an article on amphibians.